Cuts to other adult care services and a £16 million bill by 2021 will both happen if councillors refuse to move the benchmark for how much help the vulnerable and elderly get in their homes, a senior Bradford Council official has warned.

A consultation on the Fair Access to Care (FACS) guidelines proposes to raise the threshhold to ‘substantial’ or ‘critical’ so those with ‘moderate’ needs would no longer get help.

It could mean 2,000 people losing out, including 788 aged 18 to 64 and 1,290 aged 65 or over, making a saving of £1.57 million a year for the Council. It is understood around 70 per cent of the adult social care budget is linked into FACS in one way or another.

The FACS guidelines help determine a person’s care needs and whether an individual is eligible for a service from the Council to help them live at home independently. People can be assessed as either low, moderate, substantial or critical across the district.

But Janice Simpson, strategic director of adult community services, said: “We have had to take out in the region of £80 million from the budget over the last couple of years and we have to have conversations with the people of Bradford on how they want their money to be spent.

“If the numbers of elderly and those with disabilities continue to rise in the way we think they will, we are not going to be able to meet that demand at the current level within our existing resources. If we continue to spend at current levels, with our demographic increase we are anticipating by 2021 we will have to find an additional £16 million to fund FACS. It will save around £1.5 million a year (moving the benchmark), but the main issue is managing the future demand.

The changes have been criticised by Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem), who said the benchmark should remain as it is.

Mrs Simpson said: “I can understand Coun Sunderland’s concerns and that is why we are one of the authorities that has not addressed this issue.

“But at the end of the day, a decision has to be made about the amount of money the Council has and what it wants to spend its money on.”

If FACS guidelines are moved, Mrs Simpson said more would be invested in preventative services and more work with the voluntary sector.

“Services are provided through that sector with contracts and grants,” she said. “It can be very cost effective and part of what the Council wants to do is promote people’s independence and not being reliant on adult social services.”

The consultation ends in August before the issue goes before the Council’s executive in September.

Public meetings will take place at Shipley Library on Tuesday, June 25, from 2pm to 4pm, Central Hall, Alice Street, Keighley, on Thursday, July 4, from 10.30am to 12.30pm, Jacobs Well, on Tuesday, July 9, from 6pm to 8pm and Kings Hall, Ilkley, on Wednesday, July 17, from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

* Coun Jeanette Sunderland has written to strategic director of adult community services Janice Simpson over the consultation document.

"There are two questions that are really misleading. I am concerned that they have been written to get the Council the answer it wants and the second does not make it clear what exactly the consultation is about,” she said.

“The Council is making a decision about where it is going to draw the line legally about who will get support from the Council. This is not about ticket subsidies, parties in the park or other social activities, but the very activities that make life bearable for over 2,000 people. I have asked that the consultation questions are changed.”